From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Willow \Wil"low\, n. [OE. wilowe, wilwe, AS. wilig, welig; akin
to OD. wilge, D. wilg, LG. wilge. Cf. {Willy}.]
[1913 Webster]
1. (Bot.) Any tree or shrub of the genus {Salix}, including
many species, most of which are characterized often used
as an emblem of sorrow, desolation, or desertion. "A
wreath of willow to show my forsaken plight." --Sir W.
Scott. Hence, a lover forsaken by, or having lost, the
person beloved, is said to wear the willow.
[1913 Webster]
And I must wear the willow garland
For him that's dead or false to me. --Campbell.
[1913 Webster]
2. (Textile Manuf.) A machine in which cotton or wool is
opened and cleansed by the action of long spikes
projecting from a drum which revolves within a box studded
with similar spikes; -- probably so called from having
been originally a cylindrical cage made of willow rods,
though some derive the term from winnow, as denoting the
winnowing, or cleansing, action of the machine. Called
also {willy}, {twilly}, {twilly devil}, and {devil}.
[1913 Webster]
{Almond willow}, {Pussy willow}, {Weeping willow}. (Bot.) See
under {Almond}, {Pussy}, and {Weeping}.
{Willow biter} (Zool.) the blue tit. [Prov. Eng.]
{Willow fly} (Zool.), a greenish European stone fly
({Chloroperla viridis}); -- called also {yellow Sally}.
{Willow gall} (Zool.), a conical, scaly gall produced on
willows by the larva of a small dipterous fly ({Cecidomyia
strobiloides}).
{Willow grouse} (Zool.), the white ptarmigan. See
{ptarmigan}.
{Willow lark} (Zool.), the sedge warbler. [Prov. Eng.]
{Willow ptarmigan} (Zool.)
(a) The European reed bunting, or black-headed bunting.
See under {Reed}.
(b) A sparrow ({Passer salicicolus}) native of Asia,
Africa, and Southern Europe.
{Willow tea}, the prepared leaves of a species of willow
largely grown in the neighborhood of Shanghai, extensively
used by the poorer classes of Chinese as a substitute for
tea. --McElrath.
{Willow thrush} (Zool.), a variety of the veery, or Wilson's
thrush. See {Veery}.
{Willow warbler} (Zool.), a very small European warbler
({Phylloscopus trochilus}); -- called also {bee bird},
{haybird}, {golden wren}, {pettychaps}, {sweet William},
{Tom Thumb}, and {willow wren}.
[1913 Webster]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Willow \Wil"low\, v. t.
To open and cleanse, as cotton, flax, or wool, by means of a
willow. See {Willow}, n., 2.
[1913 Webster]
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
willow
n 1: any of numerous deciduous trees and shrubs of the genus
Salix [syn: {willow}, {willow tree}]
2: a textile machine having a system of revolving spikes for
opening and cleaning raw textile fibers
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